


Aral and the Balloon

by anothercrazymom



Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Balloons, Community: cottoncandy_bingo, Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, Toddler Aral
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-12
Updated: 2014-02-12
Packaged: 2018-01-12 02:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1180588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anothercrazymom/pseuds/anothercrazymom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little Lord Aral Vorkosigan and his older brother are visiting the zoo, when Aral finds his heart's truest desire - a red balloon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aral and the Balloon

Aral wanted a balloon - not just any balloon either, but the red balloon that floated high above his head attached to the stroller.  The wind started to pick up and the balloon danced behind the group, the string pulled taut.  

“I wanna hold my ‘loon,” said Aral, reaching out to take the balloon into his own small hands.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea, Aral.  It might fly away,” said the tall Armsman and he went back to his conversation with Aral’s older brother, Selig.

“But, I wannit,” said Aral loudly, “It is my ‘loon!”  Aral put his feet down and the stroller stopped abruptly.  The tall man pushing the stroller stumbled at the sudden loss of forward motion.  Aral held out his hands again.

“Aral, it is windy and the balloon might fly away if you hold it.  It will be safer if it stays attached to the stroller,” repeated the tall man.

“Don’t care.  It is my ‘loon.  I wanna hold my ‘loon,” insisted Aral loudly, for the first time drawing the attention of passersby to the conversation.

“Aral, if I give it to you then you have to promise not to get upset if it flies away,” said the tall man with a resigned sigh.

“I promise,” said Aral as he held out his small hand.

“This is not a good idea,” said Aral’s older brother, Selig.  “You know he is going to let it go and then spend the rest of the trip crying.”

“I not!” said Aral indignantly.  “I not let my ‘loon go.  I love my ‘loon.”

“Selig, he is going to cry if I don’t give him the balloon too,” said the tall man as he untied the balloon from the stroller and attached it to the little boy’s arm where he immediately reined the balloon in and gave it a hug.  “There you go, Aral, now put your feet back in the stroller so we can go.”

Aral snuggled his balloon closer as the group made its way through the rest of the zoo.  

Amazingly the rest of the trip was quite uneventful.  Aral carefully kept track of his balloon as he peeked around it to see the various animals and fish on display.  Even Selig was impressed by the dedication of his little brother to the care and protection of his precious loon.

Finally it was time to get into the car and go home.  The balloon had survived the entire afternoon and Aral hadn’t cried even once.  

“I’m sorry I told Armsman Feliks not to give you your balloon,” said Selig as they got into the car.  “I didn’t know how much you liked it.”

“I love my ‘loon, Felig,” said Aral, and he crawled into his seat in the car still cradling the precious red balloon in his arms, unwilling to let it go even for a little while.

Aral gave the balloon an extra squeeze and was startled by the loud “Bang!” moments later.  The crying started immediately.


End file.
